Douglass Frederick



Frederick Douglass DS, PSA/DNA Certified & Encapsulated!







A land deed signed by writer and activist Frederick Douglass (1817[?]-1895) as "Fredk Douglass" on docket in Washington, D.C. on June 17, 1884. The partly printed and partly handwritten document records details of a land transfer from Mary Christianna Eggerstedt to Augustus Burgdorf. With overall toning and light paper folds, else near fine. Graded Mint 9. The folded deed measures 3.5" x 8.5" while the slab measures 5.5" x 12.375".







One of Frederick Douglass's lesser-known occupations was as Recorder of Land Deeds for the District of Columbia. While Douglass’s letters are scarce, documents signed during his tenure as Recorder of Land Deeds are very reasonable.







President James Garfield appointed Douglass as Recorder of Land Deeds in 1881, and he held the position until his resignation in 1886. While a high paying job, it was actually a demotion from his former job as U.S. Marshal for the District of Columbia, a position he had held since Rutherford B. Hayes appointed him in 1877. After his retirement from the Land Deed office, Douglass would spend the next two years traveling throughout Europe and Africa with his second wife, Helen Pitts. A white woman from a Rochester, New York abolitionist family, Pitts had been Douglass’s clerk in the Land Deed office.







Frederick Douglass was an orator, journalist, abolitionist, and distinguished African-American leader. Born a slave in Tuckahoe, Maryland, he escaped from slavery in 1838. In 1841, Douglass was employed as an agent of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. He wrote Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass in 1845 to document his slavery experiences, and to silence those who believed a man of his abilities could not have been a slave. Douglass soon became a noted anti-slavery orator and supporter of women’s rights. Douglass used his influence and his newspaper The North Star to advance his causes. During the Civil War, he was instrumental in advocating for African-American combat units and in raising troops. He fought for passage of the 13th (Abolition), 14th (Citizenship and Equal Protection) and 15th (Voting Rights) Amendments. Douglass was the first African American to serve in important federal posts.







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